Just a Kid
by Sunny24
Summary: What would happen if Van Hohenheim unknowingly passed down parts and bits of his philosopher's stone to his sons? What if that power stayed buried in their bodies all this time? What if that secret was leaked out to a certain someone… (AU-ish)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello people. Recently entered the FMA fandom and I can't control myself. Watched all the episodes in two days. So tired -_-**

**Anyways, here's a little story I wrote out of boredom! Hope you enjoy! Reviews are always appreciated! :D**

**Update: Edited a bit! Hope it's a bit better now!**

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"Fullmetal Alchemist! Wait!"

"Brother!"

Edward stubbornly ignored the shouts from the back up men and his brother as he sprinted after the troubling illegal immigrant himself through the dark alley. The path seemed to thin around him the further he went. But even with his petite, agile body, Ed was still struggling against the man's incredible speed.

In attempt to slow him down, the small alchemist instinctively clapped his hands together and grunted as he slammed both hands against the cold, stone ground. Blue sparks flickered rapidly and summoned an abstractly-designed wall to rise high above their heads in front of them. With the one-way path sealed, Ed smirked saw the strange man come to a stop.

"Oi! Bastard!" Ed managed to yell out in the midst of trying to catch his breath. "Who do you think you are trying to outrun me?"

The man turned around, but his face was still indistinguishable, masked by his hood and the night darkness. A smirk crawled up his face. "Who are you? Isn't it past your bedtime yet, kid."

Ed gritted his teeth and glared dangerously at the criminal. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A HALF-PINT SHORTIE, YOU BASTARD?! I'M STILL GROWING, YOU KNOW!" He blurted out, taking on immediate hatred towards this guy. He instinctively brought out his sword-like weapon he transmuted from his automail arm and prepared himself in a battle ready stance. The man looked slightly taken aback by his gear and studied it cautiously for a moment.

"Automail, huh?" He observed. "I'm looking for a guy with automail as well. You wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?"

"Like hell I'd help you!" Ed answered bitterly. "Even if I knew who you were talking about!"

"Tch." The man smiled at his childish behaviour before regaining his composition. "Sorry, but I don't have time to play. I'm in a hurry, and I don't need little bugs like you interfering."

"WHY YOU!" Ed gave out a battle cry and sprinted head-on impulsively at the tall figure. He winded up his metal arm and his weapon successfully pierced through his vulnerable place, straight through his abdomen.

Ed smiled for a moment, but didn't get long to celebrate his victorious blow. It didn't take a genius to know that something was off. Looking up, the man didn't seem the slightest bit fazed by the alchemist's sudden act, nor did he waste any effort trying to dodge or counter his attack. Ed's expression faltered and before he could think about it anymore, he widened his eyes as he felt the flesh surrounding his automail knife harden, like cement.

"What the-" Ed panicked and tried to pull back his weapon, but couldn't.

"You shouldn't have done that, kid. I told you not to interfere, and now, you're going to pay." His look darkened as his skin softened into a putty-like substance and began travelling up Ed's fake arm. "I think this tool of yours will fit the bill nicely." Ed struggled to rip his gear away from the man to no avail as the flesh had quickly crawled over most of his arm. At the last second, Ed released a throaty scream as his automail was forcefully snapped away from his body.

Ed fell backwards from the pain of his nerves disconnecting and witnessed in shock as the man's skin suckle away at the rest of his disjoined automail, up until it all disappeared through his stomach. Red sparks flickered as Ed watched his gear replace the man's right arm, with the exact same size and build as when it was still a part of Ed.

"Light, mobile, efficient, strong…" He listed as he inspected his new arm. "… And deadly. You have good taste, chibi. I like it." The man grinned evilly as he glanced back down at the now defenceless child. "Now all I have to do is test it." He didn't hesitate to charge at his victim with the fully controlled gear. Ed instantly snapped out of his shock and barely dodged his attack by rolling over to his left and standing in a ready-squat position.

"What... you... How did you-"

"Do that?" The man finished. "It's a special ability of mine. Cool, right?" He sliced again, but Ed ducked his blade that ended up creating a giant scratch across one of the brick walls that bordered the area.

"Don't tell me you're... a homunculus?"

"Homunculus?" The masked man tried once more to jab at Ed, but missed again. "Sounds interesting, but I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just a scientist in need of a mere philosopher's stone."

"Philosopher's stone?" This time, Ed failed to avoid the incoming knife as his shoulder got impaled. He stifled a scream as the criminal lifted him by the the knife still embedded in his wound.

"Not one of those tacky fake ones either." The man hissed hatefully. "I need the real thing. And I know it's hiding here, in Central."

"What... does a bastard like you need a philosopher's stone for?" Ed whispered, but couldn't suppress his scream any more as the man twisted his weapon to further deepen Ed's wound.

"Short, annoying brats like you shouldn't be poking their heads in that neck of the woods. What do you know about the philosopher's stone, kid? Talk!" Despite the mention of his height, Ed managed to remain silent as he continued to struggle against the knife that held him up. But his attempt just worsened his situation and his pain. The self-proclaimed scientist narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Well, in that case..." He was about to take another offensive method, when suddenly, a small glimmer caught the corner of his eye. With his left hand, he curiously reached for the pocket watch chained on Ed's belt and examined it.

"A state alchemist pocket watch, huh? I didn't know their standards would go so low as to be hiring children nowadays. It's been too long since I last visited..."

Ed's temper got the best of him and he couldn't suppress his anger anymore. "STOP CALLING ME A KID, ASSHOLE! I'LL BEAT THE HELL OUT OF YOU AS SOON AS YOU GIVE ME MY ARM BACK!" The hooded man ignored Ed's cries and tore the pocket watch from its hold on Ed's pants, then pocketed it. "Oi! Give that back!"

"You want it back? You'll have to answer my question then, dog of the military." He teased and twisted the metal blade the other way and caused more of Ed's blood to stain on the ground. "I'm looking for a guy. I'm sure you've heard of him; he _has_ been the talk of the newspapers lately. They say he's tall, powerful, and really lives up to his name with his armour and all." The man held Ed's enraged face closer to his.

"Tell me, where can I find Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Kay, Kay! Story update! Ok, so just to confirm, in this kind of AU-ish universe, I've made Ed and Al still quite young, maybe still 14 and 15. So they're still not aware of the process of making a philosopher's stone, and they haven't re-met their father yet. So, yeah… in case you were wondering. Also, I refer to the OC as "the man" a lot. Sorry if you find that annoying. I'll try to give him a name in the next chapter!**

**Anyways, enjoy! (Sorry if it's not very good, I was in kind of a rush. Feel free to review and ****tell me how it is and how I can improve! :D)**

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_Are you kidding me?! _Ed wanted to yell out, but his throat wouldn't allow him to after all of his painful screaming. He couldn't believe that after all he had done and all the places he had been to, his title, Fullmetal Alchemist, was still being mistaken as his brother's! He noticed it had been a while since someone had made that misconception, but that didn't make him any less angry about it.

On the other hand, this guy was an illegal immigrant. He couldn't have known much about him and Al if he was from an outside country. Maybe that was a good thing though. This way, Ed could play along and find out more about this mysterious man from an outside stand.

"What do you want with him?" Ed tried to sound menacing, but it was difficult with his sore throat.

"Weren't you listening?" The man's deep voice spoke with slight annoyance. "I said I need a philosopher's stone. And he happens to have one."

Ed widened his eyes in confusion. His brother and himself would've remembered if they had a philosopher's stone with them. It was their life goal after all: to find one in order to regain their bodies. But so far, all of the boys' leads to one had been false.

And here this guy was, accusing him of possessing one. But did that mean he was aware of their research, their journey to find it to bring their bodies back? The more Ed thought about it, the more questions it brought about the man.

"How would you- What makes you think _he_ has one?" Ed hated how his words stuttered out of his mouth, making him sound suspicious.

It made him even more nervous seeing a thin, unsettling smile tug at the corner of the scientist's face. The man took a moment to look amused at the question. Then, he answered, "Oh, trust me, I _know_ he does."

Ed was finally angled where he could identify the colour of the man's eyes beyond his shades. They were with a dark type of green, it reminded him of a forest, the one in Resembool he would always stay away from, because the darkness there would scare him. Those eyes were staring at Ed as though they were daring him to believe otherwise, to believe that he did have a philosopher's stone, even though it was evident he didn't.

Then, the man finally sighed and shook Ed's frail body. "Oi, oi. Your wasting my time." He complained. "You better answer my question before I get too reckless with this metal arm of yours." Ed felt him dig the blade a few millimetres in his bloody wound, just to remind him of his current position.

_Damn it! _Ed's breathing grew uneven as he choked down another scream. He hated being toyed with. It made him feel weak, helpless. He hated it, but he refused to accept it.

Shakily, his head rose and his eyes met the depth of the man's green eyes once again. But he refused to be scared. He convinced himself that he had met situations much worse than this and fought people much more skilled than him. He was the Fullmetal Alchemist. He shouldn't have been scared of anything anymore. Not after seeing his mother that way...

He swallowed down the memory and narrowed his eyes. With no limbs available, Ed did the next best thing. He proudly spat a mouthful of his saliva on his cheek of the sociopath and put on his signature cheeky smile. "Sorry, I don't know who you're talking about."

The man's smile disappeared. With one finger, he dipped into the pool of spit and looked at it with disapproval. "Very mature," he said. "And I thought letting you live would give me a head-start on things." Ed's body stiffened as he saw the man's exposed skin began to outstretch again. The tentacle-like forms of his skin began snaking their way around Ed's body. Ed gasped and struggled to escape its grasp on him, but the effort was futile. "You'll make a delicious snack, chibi." He licked his lips.

Ed tried to scream, when suddenly, a blinding light shone upon them. The blaze made the scientist's skin instantly recoil from Ed, and the man and the small alchemist had to squint his eyes to see beyond the brightness.

A high shrill of a whistle followed the source of the light, and the sound of several footsteps stopped as they rounded the corner.

"Freeze!" As Ed's eyes adjusted to the newfound light, he spotted a file of military soldiers enter the scene with their loaded guns pointed at the illegal immigrant. He identified them as the 'beginner' back-up crew he left behind during the chase. He should have been feeling guilty for having them run after him constantly during the race, but he only emotion that came to him was relief.

"W-Whatever you are! Drop the boy, or we'll shoot!" The nervous leader of the group threatened with his gun and flashlight unsteadily wobbling in his hand. It was evident that his was his first mission. The criminal made no effort to comply to their demands.

It was not long after when Ed heard the sounds of large, metal footsteps come closer from around the corner. Ed widened his eyes at the all-to-familiar noise, but before he could react, a seven-foot steel armour appeared.

The armour gasped in horror scene that befell his eyes.

"Al! Get out of here!" Ed ordered out of panic, but it was too late. The scientist immediately lost interest in Ed and looked upon his new victim. "Ah, I finally found you." He threw Ed roughly against the wall like trash and began stepping casually towards Al.

"I said freeze!" The leader repeated a bit more firmly, but he still had a fearful expression scarred on his face which helped the scientist easily ignore him.

"So you're the Fullmetal Alchemist..." He observed as he sized Al up. "Looks like you really do live up to your name, huh."

Al instinctively prepared a fighting stance upon sensing danger from the approaching man, but a hint of uncertainty stained his tone. "Um... but... I'm not the Fullmetal Alchemist." He replied truthfully.

"Sure, sure. And I'm not an illegal immigrant." The hooded-man chuckled sarcastically. "Well, now that we're through with introductions, let's get straight down to business. I do believe you have something I need."

"I… do?"

"Ah yes, the philosopher's stone. It's coming with me."

"But… I don't have one," Al answered innocently, but the man wasn't buying it.

"Don't act like you don't know." Al flinched at his sudden change in demeanor. The man's expression grew serious and his tone deepened slightly. He looked as though he took on a whole new personality, a less comical, and a more sinister one. "I've wasted too many years of my life travelling and researching about the philosopher's stone. I've read every book, developed many theories, and performed countless experiments on it. All that and no results!" He shouted out of frustration. Suddenly, his gritted teeth calmly shifted to a relaxed smile.

To have his anger suddenly leave him was surprising, but his wild eyes stayed and continued to target Al. "That is, until I met your father."

"My... father?" Saying the word felt like speaking another language. Nor Al or Ed had seen their father in years, ever since he left them and their mother for unknown reasons. Being reminded of him made Al feel numb. He knew Ed still held a strong hatred towards him and blamed him for their mother's death. Al should have hated him too for leaving them, but he honestly wasn't sure what he felt towards him. It wasn't love, or hate. Just emptiness, as though Al's memory of him was a missing piece of puzzle. "He's alive?"

"You don't know?" The man smirked. "He was my partner. Hohenheim was a brilliant man. He could miraculously cure the sick without any type of medication, his alchemy didn't follow equivalent exchange. I've watched him, admired him, and followed him for 10 years. And yet, after all that time, I've never seen him age."

Al was still confused and spoke in a quiet tone, "What… What are you saying?"

The man rolled his eyes as though what he said should have made his point obvious. "I'm _saying_ that he was a complicated man. I couldn't figure him out for the longest time. But when I finally did, it was too late. He was gone..." The man tightened his fist and faced Al with his crazy glare. "And now, you're my next best chance."

The man's skin suddenly and swiftly stretched out from his exposed abdomen like vines, and managed to attach itself on Al's metal head. Al was too shocked to scream, the best he could do was squeak.

The leader took instant notice and gave the order. "F-Fire!" Bullets were shot and each crack of the fire loudly resonated throughout the area. Many of them hit the hooded man, but never penetrated his skin. The elasticity of it rebounded the shots and the bullets were scattered everywhere.

Soldiers cried out in pain and collapsed from the backfire, as more blood began to spill the ground.

Al tried to use his hands to hold his head in place, but the man was strong. It became a tug of war with an inevitable ending: the scientist won. The metal armour's head popped off and was instantly swallowed by the flexible skin.

"My head!" Al gasped.

The man smiled at his victory, but it died upon looking at the hollow darkness in the suit of armour.

"What… no body?" For the first time, he looked surprised. "Another one of your alchemist tricks, isn't it? So, where are you hiding it, Fullmetal Alchemist?" The man's face grew serious as he began advancing dangerously towards Al. Al once again prepared his armour in a battle position, but the situation still befuddled his mind. What was this about the philosopher's stone? His father? His body? No, not even his body, he said he wanted the body of...

"Brother!" Al exclaimed as if he took a glance over the man's shoulder. _Brother? _The man followed his gaze and, sure enough, there was a shadow of a small figure struggling against gravity as he rose to his feet, using the wall as support. _That brat was his brother? _The man didn't recall his old associate telling him he had two kids. He didn't recall him speaking much about his old life anyways. Whenever the scientist tried to bring up the topic, he would give him simple and direct answers, then try to change the conversation.

His thoughts were disrupted by Ed's voice that rasped out between steady deep breaths. "Leave Al out of this, you bastard!" He ordered. "He's not the one you want... I am. I am the Fullmetal Alchemist!" He coughed out.

The man smirked, taking pleasure in seeing the boy in so much pain. "You again? You should stay down while you still have the energy to breathe." He laughed, but Ed ignored him.

"I'm not sure what you know about us, or what you want with the philosopher's stone, but… just answer me one thing." Ed's fingers curled as if they were trying to create a fist. "What the hell... does our bastard father have to do with this?"

"Brother-" Al tried to stop him, but Ed continued.

"Hohenheim… is my father too. I deserve the right to know why that bastard had to leave and make mom go through so much hardship... She spent everyday waiting for him, looking outside the window before she died! He killed her! Why did he have to leave?! Why?!"

The man studied Ed's intense expression. The more he looked at him, the more he realized that looking at his face was like looking at Hohenheim's. In every newspaper article he read, the picture of the tall metal armour had always caught his main attention.

Until now, he hadn't noticed the accompanied shot of that kid in the photos. Had he been looking at this situation the wrong way the whole time? Was that small child truly the prodigy that unraveled the truth in Liore, the one freed the workers in Youswell? Was _he _the Fullmetal Alchemist?

The idea seemed absurd. He was just a kid, after all. But, just looking at the boy reminded him too much of his ex-partner. So_ Van had two kids, huh. _The man smiled_. Yet, they still don't know what Hohenheim truly is, do they...__  
_

"Your 'bastard' father has everything to do with this, kid." He yelled out loudly, so that his voice resonated throughout the alleyway. "You don't know that his body serves as a container for the only-known true philosopher's stone to exist in this world? That he's lived through countless generations because of it?"

"W… What?"

"Did you even know that to make a philosopher's stone, you must sacrifice thousands of human lives to do so?" The impact of his words left the Elric brothers speechless and befuddled. The man laughed as he saw Ed collapse on the ground._  
_

"That's... not possible... You're lying!" Ed's voice stuttered. "There's no way... a person can be a philosopher's stone... W-What the hell are you trying to pull here?!" He snapped away from his shock and jabbed a finger in accusation at the man, which managed to stretch the wound even more. But Ed paid no attention to the throbbing pain. He needed answers, and he needed them now.

The man shrugged nonchalantly. "They say that 'the truth will set you free, but first, it will piss you off'. You can thank me later, kid. But right now, you'll have to come with me. You have something I've been looking for." Before he knew it, Ed found the man's shadow loomed over his bloody body. Ed couldn't help but fearfully back away helplessly against the side wall, as though he was a dying mouse attempting to escape the paws of a hungry, advancing cat.

The man approached him, and he heard Al in the background, yelling for him to run.

But he couldn't. Ed felt the fatigue take control over his body and every part of his body felt numb. He was losing too much blood and losing hope as well, he could feel the fear suffocating him. _This is it_, Ed thought with despair. _This is what defeat felt like._

Just then, a bullet expertly whizzed a couple inches between him and the man. Surprised, the man backed up a step, but managed to recover from the shock quickly.

"What now." He grumbled, facing towards the source of the shot.

"There's going to be a lot more where that came from if you move any closer to my subordinate." The man stoically stared at the holder of the voice. Ed's head lolled over to the side curiously as well. His blurry vision cleared up for only a second, but it didn't take long for him recognize the identity of the familiar character. _Bastard, w__hy did he come here? _Ed thought in annoyance. The last thing he saw before he fainted was the small wisp of smoke that emitted from Hawkeye's handgun and the typical, cocky expression plastered on the face of the Flame Alchemist himself, Roy Mustang.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hiya guys! So, I changed this chapter a bit because the last version of this chapter didn't make much sense and it was pretty confusing… yeah, sorry. Hopefully, this direction of the story will make more sense. Hope you enjoy! :D**

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The sunlight shone brightly as it flooded through the window of the dark room. Ed moaned from the tapping warmth against his face, wondering how long he'd been asleep. It felt like ages since he had awoken, yet his body still felt exhausted. But the light was persistently trying to sneak past his eyelids. He yawned and supposed that waking up was an inevitable process, so he blinked, shut his eyes, and blinked again.

As the image of his surroundings began to clear up, Ed sorely sat up and found himself in a familiar, white room on a familiar, white cot. From his observations and from the foul smell of disinfectant, he immediately deducted that he was in the Central hospital... again. He let his head fall and groaned.

After all the missions of getting hurt or injured, Ed had grown sick and tired of coming back to this place. He didn't like how the doctors would ask him the same boring questions, how the nurses would treat him like a 10-year old and how they would give him a bottle of milk with every one of his meals, even though he clearly shared his hatred for the drink with them.

He held a special hatred for how Mustang would barge in and complain about all the damages he made trying to complete the mission, and all the hospital bills he had costed the military. His situation in the hospital also gave Mustang the perfect opportunity to tease Ed about his height, all he wanted.

_Ugh._ Just thinking about his 'superior' pissed him off. The whole hospital process pissed him off! Ed sighed in frustration, and tried to get out of bed, like he usually did, but his muscles sorely responded negatively. His whole body was immediately numbed in pain, with his muscles giving off a burning sensation and his head throbbing widely. He widened his eyes at the place his automail arm should have been and the IV taped to his other arm.

_No._ He remembered it being no ordinary mission. Ed remembered the mysterious illegal immigrant, and that conversation he had with him…

Ed remembered feeling so weak compared to that man. It was a horrible feeling, the feeling that he was almost unable to save his brother from the madman's clutches. It made him wonder what happened after he passed out, after that bastard Colonel showed up. Ed would never admit it, but based on his sparring battle with the man, he knew that Roy's strength had amazing capabilities. He was sure that that Roy was able to handle him.

But, more importantly, Ed couldn't help but wonder if the man really did work with Hohenheim.

He narrowed his eyes at the floor, still wondering what the hell his good-for-nothing man was doing still alive. _He didn't deserve to live while he left mom to die._ It frustrated Ed to no ends, the fact that he didn't understand why the man had to leave them, why he spent more years working with this psychopath than with his own family. _He hated us, that's why,_ Ed convinced himself. _And I can never forgive him for what he made mom go through! But… _

It bothered Ed thinking about how the man described Hohenheim's connection with the philosopher's stone, and what he told him about the stone's origins. What if what he said was true? What if Al and him spent all this time and energy searching for an item like that; an item that could be possibly cost thousands of lives.

It was too much to think about all at once, but Ed wasn't one to be patient with this type of information. He needed answers. He needed to find out if what that man said was true. To do that, he needed a lead, and it was lucky that man gave him one. Ed needed to tell Al that once he got out of this hospital, he was going after Hohenheim.

Speaking of Al… Ed's eyes travelled to the corner of the hospital room, where his brother usually patiently waited for him to wake up. But this time, he wasn't there. Only now did Ed notice how dreadfully quiet the place without Al's cheery voice. Ed thought that maybe he decided to go out for awhile, or maybe back to Central headquarters.

Ed tried to dismiss the small difference, but he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable about the idea.

At that moment, his ears suddenly perked up when he heard a muffled, desperate voice calling, "Help!" It was Al.

The window. The cry came from outside.

Ed scrambled and nearly collapsed trying to reach the window. He felt so weak and imbalanced with his automail arm stolen and his other arm barely usable with all the bandage wrap in the way, but despite his obvious need for more medical care, he ripped off his IV and stubbornly continued towards the window.

Beyond the glass, Ed saw Al, walking out of the hospital with his replacement metal head. Ed didn't see what was wrong at first, but as he looked closer, Al looked as though he was having trouble walking. _Was there something wrong with his armour? Did he get hurt? _Ed's curiosity led him to push open the creaky glass wider, and call out to his brother.

"Hey Al! Where are you go-" Ed suddenly paused mid-sentence as Al turned his way. Ed saw through Al's eyeholes and immediately noticed that the regular red glow of darkness weren't there. Even from his stance, he could see the threatening green glare, the same one from that night.

"Brother! He's inside-" Al's stuttering was interrupted by evil laughter.

"You are an observant little thing, aren't you?" The man's menacing tone metallically echoed from inside Ed's armour. It made Ed grit his teeth and tighten his grip on the window sill. Ed shouldn't have let the man's taunting get to him, but he couldn't help himself.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST GO AROUND CALLING ME SHORT ALL THE TIME, YOU DUMBASS?! GET OUT OF AL SO I CAN KICK YOUR SORRY ASS ALREADY!"

The man tapped his chin mockingly from inside Al's armour. "Hmm, I don't know... I kind of like it in here! It's pretty cozy, and it matches the style of my new arm! Don't you think?"

Ed growled. "I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH AL!"

"Well, I guess if you want to save your brother, you'll have to catch me first." The perpetrator laughed giddily, and sped down the street with Al.

"WAIT! AL!" Ed didn't bother to even consider how far up he was relative to the ground. He mustered enough energy to swing his heavy automail leg over first, but before he could swing over his other leg, he found any further movement restricted by two strong, muscly arms.


End file.
